A MUSLIM teacher has been suspended by Kirklees Council after she insisted on wearing a veil to teach young children.
Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to take it off in class at Headfield CE Junior School in Thornhill Lees.
Pupils complained they found English lessons hard to understand because they could not see her lips move.
The junior school in Dewsbury said she could wear her veil in corridors and the staff room - but must remove it when teaching.
Angry Miss Azmi refused, claiming the veil was part of her cultural identity, and was suspended.
A tribunal has already heard claims from Miss Azmi and from Kirklees education officials but has not yet delivered its findings.
The Muslim Council of Britain said Miss Azmi was wrong to insist on covering her face.
Spokesman Dr Reefat Drabu said that in the presence of young children Muslim women were not even required to wear a headscarf, let alone a veil.
Miss Azmi was teaching English to children for whom it was a second language.
Many of the 529 boys and girls aged seven to 11 at Headfield School are from ethnic backgrounds where English is not the first language.
The school says that because of this it is essential the children are provided with easily-understandable English lessons.
Council education spokesman Clr Jim Dodds said: "This is nothing to do with religion.
"We were quite happy for the teacher to wear her veil while she was in the school and elsewhere but not when teaching.
"Teaching English to children for whom it is a second language is difficult and they need to see her mouth move when the words are formed.
"We accepted the veil could be worn anywhere else in school but not in the classroom.
"Our whole stance has been that we want the best for the children in our schools."
Commons leader Jack Straw sparked anger among some sectors of the Muslim community last week when he said wearing the veil made community relationships "difficult".
